1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information communication apparatus such as a facsimile machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
First of all, in a conventional art, there has been known an information communication apparatus such as a facsimile machine, as shown in FIG. 7, which comprises a manuscript inlet opening 2 provided at central portion of an upper surface of the apparatus main body 1, a recording paper outlet opening 3 provided behind the manuscript inlet hole 2, and a recording paper tray 4 disposed behind the recording paper outlet opening 3 so as to serve as a manuscript holder as well as a recording paper holder. This recording paper tray 4 is an insertion type that is detachably installed on the apparatus main body 1 as occasion demands. Moreover, a reference numeral 5 denotes a manuscript outlet.
However, such a conventional apparatus is not preferable in view of space utility, because the recording paper tray 4 undesirably protrudes rearward and upward from the apparatus main body 1. That is, a space required for installing such a conventional information communication apparatus becomes fairly larger than the occupying space of the apparatus main body 1 itself, because of this reawardly and upwardly extending paper tray 4.
Furthermore, according to the conventional constitution,, the system in the apparatus main body 1 tends to be contaminated by dusts or small particles in the air, since the manuscript inlet opening 2 is always opened to the air. In the worst case, such a contamination may induce function errors in ordinary communication operations of the information communication apparatus.
In order to solve above problem, the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. SHO 64-10773 proposes to newly provide a cover plate hingedly supported on the upper portion of the communication apparatus. That is, with this proposed arrangement, the manuscript inlet opening is concealed together with an operation panel located in the periphery of the manuscript inlet opening by closing the cover plate. To the contrary, this cover plate can be used as a manuscript holder by locating it at its opened position.
However, the above proposed apparatus disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. SHO 64-10773 is not convenient yet in the following point.
In the proposed apparatus, the cover plate is provided in front of the recording paper outlet opening. Such a structure can merely let the cover plate serve as a manuscript holder, not as a recording paper tray. Furthermore, the cover plate is designed to cover a relatively small area on the upper surface of the apparatus. Therefore, when the cover plate is raised up so as to be used as a manuscript holder, the length of the cover plate is not sufficiently long enough to hold the manuscripts stably. Moreover, other inconvenience is that the cover plate must be opened every time when the operation panel is manipulated for ordinary communication purposes such as a normal telephone call.
Secondly, in the conventional art, there are many information communication apparatus including dialing buttons of push button type. Usually, these dialing buttons consists of twelve push buttons arrayed into four lines each including three buttons; i.e. in a form of a matrix of three rows and four lines. And further, a layout of these dialing buttons is usually designed in such a manner that these rows and lines are disposed in parallel with or normal to the front edge of the apparatus main body.
However, it is found by the inventor of the present application that such a conventional button layout is not so easy to operate, when an operator stands to directly oppose to these dialing buttons.